Scrapping the planned replacement for Harrow Leisure Centre should prompt a re-think of future development in the borough, a Labour councillor has said.

Councillor David Ashton, the leader of Conservative-controlled Harrow Council, confirmed at council question time on Thursday that the financial squeeze had forced the authority to ditch its plans to demolish the sports complex in Christchurch Avenue, Wealdstone, and construct a £37.2million successor.

The council had intended to fund the construction of a new leisure centre and skate park by selling off part of the car park of the current complex to a housing developer.

Similarly, the former site of Gayton Library and car park, in Gayton Road, Harrow, was to be sold off to generate further cash.

But the council had to abandon the scheme when it realised it would not be able to earn enough from the land to cover costs.

Mr Ashton said: "In the case of the leisure centre, it would be wrong to go ahead when cash-strapped developers aren't able to give us the value we believe the land has.

"We are going to press on with a project to enhance the town centre but with a reduced budget.

"People know that finance is tight and they know banks are having a difficult situation in terms of lending."

But Labour group leader Bill Stephenson said the financial problems provided an opportunity.

He said: "The credit crunch has given the current administration a breathing space where they can do what is right by the people of Harrow.

"It was a far too complex scheme. It was very clever but they knew about the credit crunch about a year-and-a-half ago and should have been able to predict what was likely to happen.

"We say: take the time to look at the whole situation again.

"We don't want high-rise development in Harrow. We need a little more residential complimented by leisure facilities and retail outlets to make the town centre really competitive.

"In the medium term future, one would want to upgrade the leisure centre and also we need a large hall like Byron Hall for major events."

The Labour group wants their political rivals to bring back ditched plans for a combined art gallery, exhibition space and library on the Gayton Road site, paid for by the sale of part of the land to a developer.

Harrow Council's cabinet committee meeting on October 23 will receive an update on how the credit crunch has affected other projects.

Major projects in Harrow

* Replacement Harrow Leisure Centre and Skate Park, Wealdstone - Scrapped by council on September 25.